RECOUNT TEXT

RECOUNT TEXT to retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining.

Recount text has three elements :

Orientation

Events

Re-orientation

GENERIC STRUCTURE :

Orientation : Provides the setting and introduction participants.

Events : Tell what happened in sequence.

Re-orientation : Optional closure of events.

SIGNIFICANT LEXICOGRAMMATICAL FEATURES

Focus on specific participants

Use of material process

Circumstances of time and place

Use of past tense

Focus on temporal sequence

Example

“Earthquake”

Orientation : I was driving along the coast road when the car suddenly lurched to one side.

Event 1 : At first, when I saw telegraph poles collapsing like matchsticks.

Event 2 : the rock came tumbling across the road and I had to abandon the car.